Jinshang Tianhua (Adding Beauty to Beauty): An Excellent Variety of the Zimu Hua Type in Cymbidium lianpan

Cymbidium lianpanCymbidium lianpan is mainly produced in the Nujiang, Lancangjiang and Jinshajiang river basins of western and northwestern Yunnan. Here, the differences in altitude, vegetation, temperature and humidity, and soil conditions are considerable, and various non-ferrous metals are richly deposited, resulting in extremely rich variations in plant type, flower type and flower color, and giving rise to many natural variant varieties. Plum petals, lotus petals, narcissus petals, bamboo-leaf petals and more are all represented; colored flowers, strange butterfly flowers, plain flowers, red tongues and others are numerous, among which some have even formed series such as red tongue and zimu hua (mother-and-child flowers) from several varieties with basically the same or similar traits (some orchid growers call these strain lines). Among these, the zimu hua series within the strange butterfly flowersCymbidium lianpanamong the many strain lines of Cymbidium lianpan appears particularly colorful and varied, and is deeply favored and sought after by orchid enthusiasts.

The zimu hua series mainly includes Jinshang Tianhua, Qihua Wang, Hejia Huan (Yanhuang Zisun, Shenzhou Mudan), Muzi Xieyou, Datang Qiguan, Jiuding Qi, Zimu Qingyuan, Muzi Qingshen, Benchi Mudan, Yidai Tianjiao and more than ten others, and this large family is still adding different varieties (some varieties may be synonyms of the same species).

The greatest characteristic of this series is that each scape bears both large flowers and small flowers, or produces several small petals and small flower tongues. Most large flowers are regular-form flowers, while the small flowers are strange flowers or butterfly flowers, with petals and flower tongues proliferating in an orderly, scattered arrangement, giving them a distinctive character.

Among them, Jinshang Tianhua has been one of the most sought-after fine Cymbidium lianpan varieties in the Yunnan orchid market in recent years.

This variety was discovered in the mountains in February 2001. Huang Demin, an orchid grower from Weishan County, Dali Prefecture, purchased 5 plants, old and young, with 3 scapes in flower. Each flower gave rise to extremely small twin strange flowers. One week after potting, the twin flowers gradually grew and bloomed, with as many as 17 petals, combining butterfly petals and chrysanthemum petals in one, hence the name "Jinshang Tianhua" (Adding Beauty to Beauty). The following year, 4 plants were distributed to other orchid enthusiasts at 150,000 yuan per plant.

The plant height of this variety is 30-45cm, leaf width 0.5-0.7cm, leaves slanting upright, leaf tips slightly drooping, leaf buds pinkish white; flower buds white-green, flower stalk relatively thick, flowers borne above the leaves, blooming around the Spring Festival; each flower initially opens as a normal large flower, and from below the column of each large flower, small petals and small flower tongues gradually grow out, competing to emerge, then opening and growing larger, presenting a magnificent sight.

One of the most obvious characteristics distinguishing this variety from other zimu hua is that its ovary is relatively swollen.

This variety is vigorous and easy to grow. With proper cultivation, the seedling propagation rate can reach 200-300%, and this variety also has an interesting phenomenon: dormant small buds lie hidden below the flower stalk, so great care must be taken when removing the flower stalk. This variety has a relatively high flowering rate; three or two plants, or even one or two plants (often a single plant alone) may flower.

In 2005, it won the Silver Award at the 15th China (Leshan) Orchid Expo;

In 2007, it won the Gold Award at the 17th China (Wuhan) Orchid Expo;

In 2006, it won the Gold Award at the 6th Yunnan (Lijiang) Orchid Expo;

In 2006, it won the Special Gold Award at the springorchidjoint exhibition of the three cities of Ya'an, Jinyang and Leshan in Sichuan Province (only 2 Special Gold Awards were set for this exhibition);

In 2006, it won the Special Gold Award at the 10th Dali (Heqing) Orchid Expo (only 2 Special Gold Awards were set for this exhibition);

In 2007, it won the Gold Award at the orchid exhibition of the First China Heqing Orchid Culture Tourism Festival;

In 2008, it won the Special Gold Award at the China (Dali) International Orchid Expo.

……

On August 12, 2004it was registered, with Huang Demin as the namer and Liu Guangquan as the registrant. Expert comments: This variety was selected from wild Cymbidium lianpan in the Three Parallel Rivers region of northwestern Yunnan. It is a typical zimu hua, with eachflower'sflower stalk base bearing a small flower. The small flowers are multi-petaled with obvious butterfly transformation, making it a rare treasure among Cymbidium lianpan. Its traits are stable, and registration is approved.

It is currently mainly grown among orchid enthusiasts in Heqing, Dali Xiaguan, Kunming, Yuxi and other places.

This variety is one of the representative varieties in the zimu hua series of Cymbidium lianpan. Its flower quality is relatively good, it is vigorous and easy to grow, has a relatively high seedling propagation rate, and is relatively resistant to disease. More importantly, this variety has a high flowering rate, can frequently participate in exhibitions and meetings to receive praise and awards, attracts attention, and gathers popularity. In addition, the number of plants is relatively small, making it a relatively good investment variety.

For this reason, its price has remained high for many years. In 2006, each plant once reached more than 1 million yuan. In the past two years, the price has been somewhat lowered, but transactions have been relatively good, making it one of the most active investment varieties at present. It is reported that on the opening day of the China (Dali) International Orchid Expo held in 2008, two plants of this variety on the Heqing display stand were sold for more than 700,000 yuan.